


assassins

by statisticallysignificant



Series: the unapologetic first impressions [1]
Category: The 100
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Fluff, everyone lives happily ever after, no dead lesbians because that would suck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-15
Updated: 2016-05-20
Packaged: 2018-06-08 11:32:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6852895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/statisticallysignificant/pseuds/statisticallysignificant
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>the “it’s a dumb school tradition and I was assigned to take you out with a watergun. sorry we really got on the wrong foot but you’re really cute” au</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Every school has its own dumb school traditions, and Arkadia High was no different. See, every year, the senior class would all play this game called Assassins. Each student would partner up with one other individual and, for the first round, they would be assigned one other group to take out, only needing to take out one individual in the team through a simple blast with a water gun to move on to the next round. The rules were rather simple: no attacking at school, don’t tell others who your target is, don’t aim for the face, and to complete the round by the end of four days. Anything else was fair game. 

It was always a tense period of time, with friends turning on each other and classmates turning into nearly psychopathic stalkers in order to win a nice trophy and the revered title of the Assassins Champion. Plus, the winning team also got $1,000. Frankly, Clarke was shocked the school and Principal Jaha let something as aimlessly stupid and violent like Assassins play out every year, but she supposed that it was because Assassins was a tradition even around when he went to Arkadia High. 

Regardless of why the tradition of Assassins still continued, she, unlike many of her other classmates, hated the entire game. It really didn’t help that all of her other friends—Bellamy, Raven, Octavia, Monty, Jaspar, Murphy, and even Lincoln, the most gentle person she knew—absolutely loved the game. Since Lincoln and Octavia, Monty and Jaspar, and Bellamy and Murphy had immediately partnered up, Raven had been stuck with Clarke, and Raven didn’t exactly hide her distaste that her partner was, as she called it, “a fucking pacifist.” In fact, Raven had heavily enunciated to Clarke that she better pull her own weight, not get them eliminated, and realize that “Assassins season was war.” 

Her thoughts were broken when Raven excitedly approached her, a wide grin on her face. “Did you hear, Clarke? We have our targets for the first round!” 

Clarke rolled her eyes. “Just great,” she muttered. “Remind me again why we have to do this?” 

Raven just sighed dramatically, “It’s tradition, Griffin. And it’s not like you have to do anything short of not getting shot with a water gun! You literally have the smartest, most athletic individual in this school on your team—“

Interrupting her, Clarke added with a scoff, “And the most arrogant too apparently.” Raven shot her a glare before continuing, “What I’m saying is that we really have a shot at winning the grand prize and the trophy if you could just lose the whole ‘Assassins is stupid’ attitude. Plus, I bet Bellamy $50 that we’d make it further than him and Murphy in the game and I know how badly you want to one up the two.” 

Admittedly, that was true. Clarke was honestly getting tired of being treated like fragile china who needed to be protected and shielded by all her friends—Bellamy especially. Plus, maybe Assassins would help her get her mind off Finn. So hesitantly, Clarke nodded, “Fine, Raven. I promise to try not to get killed.” 

With that, a huge smile once again appeared on Raven’s face. “Knew you had it in you Clarke. Now, wait till you hear who our targets are!” 

Clarke shrugged, “No clue. Who?” 

Raven grinned wickedly, before leaning in to whisper the names into her ear, “Cage Wallace and Carl Emerson.” Leaning back, her eyes glimmered with wicked intent. “Now tell me you don’t want to knock down those assholes a few pegs.” 

Now, Clarke prides herself on being a rather level-headed, rational human being, but when it came to Cage Wallace and Carl Emerson, all her ideas of nonviolence and civility went out the door. It wasn’t just because the two were entitled prats oozing an aura of old money and trust funds, but they were also total jerks. Last year, when Jaspar and Maya, a childhood friend of Cage’s, got together, Cage and Carl had been absolutely livid that the daughter of a rich girl was fraternizing with “a sleazy, good-for-nothing son of a mechanic”. So they had alerted Maya’s father about the relationship, who immediately forced the couple apart and enrolled her into a faraway private school. It took months for Jaspar to even talk to anyone else outside their friend group, and still, Clarke could tell that the loss of Maya still affected him. After that, Clarke and her friend group had declared Cage and his cronies to be their sworn enemies.

“Let’s just say that I wouldn’t be totally opposed to blasting Cage Wallace in the head,” Clarke spoke truthfully, fighting to display a smile. 

At her words, Raven smirked. “Atta girl. Now we just have to plan to take those suckers down.”

***

Clarke had always known that Raven was crazy smart. What she didn’t anticipate was how absolutely diabolical she could be. As soon as school had ended, Raven, armed with a trunk of water guns, had dragged the two of them back to her house to plan for how they could eliminate Cage and Emerson while simultaneously ensuring that they didn’t get caught off guard by whichever group had them.

Since they only needed to take out one individual in the team for the entire team to be out, Raven had immediately identified Cage as the easiest target because, according to Raven, “He can’t run that fast in his tight khakis and stupid button-up shirts. That wanker looks like he’d just give up and threaten to unleash his daddy onto us if we tried to shoot him.” Clarke had easily agreed (partly because she couldn’t wait to see the absolute look of shock and fury on his face when she shot him). 

They had literally spent hours discussing how to best take him out, with Raven suggesting more… unconventional methods and Clarke reminding Raven that the general laws still applied with Assassins (“no, Raven, we can’t blow up his car and shoot him with a water gun when he’s stranded in the school parking lot”). 

But after hours of planning, they finally reached a consensus.

Like all rich people, every weekend, Cage and his father would go golfing at some super elite country club, talking about the millions of dollars they’d managed to swindle off unsuspecting Americans over a match of golf. And conveniently, Raven just so happened to work there as the lead technician. Since Raven had control of the entire facility, she would “accidentally” set off the sprinkler system out on the greens, drawing Cage out of the golf course and into the direct line of sight of Clarke, who would then take him out.  
It wasn’t the most elaborate plan, but it would work and that’s all that mattered to Clarke. Knowing Cage, he wouldn’t suspect a thing—in fact, when the sprinkler system went off, he’d probably just rant about the inadequacy of the country club and how they needed to hire more competent staff all the while walking straight into a trap. 

Now finished with their planning, Raven had now started speculating as to who had the two of them. “Of course, the offensive is important, but in virtually every year, what separated the winners from the losers was defense,” Raven thought out loud. “We have to be on full alert mode. We can’t trust anyone, not Bellamy, not Octavia, not Monty, no one. Any senior could be targeting us.” When Clarke didn’t immediately respond, Raven narrowed her eyes, “Got it, Clarke?” 

Clarke sighed—Raven really was too paranoid, but knowing that Raven would hound her ass into she agreed, Clarke nodded. “Got it, Raven. Now calm down, we’ll be just fine.”  
Raven rolled her eyes. “I know you think I’m being ridiculous, but this is war, Clarke. I refuse to go down—we’re getting that damn trophy.” 

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Clarke waved her off before turning on her phone. Already, on her Instagram and Twitter, she saw videos and tweets about today’s kills. Most people chose not to share who they took out and whether they were still in the game in order to take their target off guard, but it was clear that some people were a little too overconfident. Frankly, she was surprised that so many people were able to take out their target on the first day. People were on the most alert the first day, but she supposed that some people just lucked out with their target.

She paused when she saw Cage’s username pop up on her feed. “Of course that asshole had to post a video of him shooting some poor girl,” Clarke frowned. At the mention of “asshole,” Raven instantly perked up and moved next to Clarke in order to watch the video. Cage and Emerson, in their stereotypical button up shirts and pristine khakis, jumped a poor girl as soon as she got home from school, instantly shooting her in the chest. In the background of the video, she could the two jeering after they shot the girl. At the end of the video, the two of them smirked for the camera while Cage screamed something akin to, “Watch out Arkadia High, we’re coming for you!” 

“Confident motherfuckers,” Raven muttered to the screen, “Just you watch out, because we’re coming for you.”


	2. Chapter 2

Lexa had always been overly competitive, whether it concerned getting the highest grade in class or winning section champions in soccer. That's why Lexa was determined to win Assassins, no matter the cost (or, at least, she thought that before). Whenever she and Anya found out their targets were two girls-- Clarke and Raven-- both of whom she’d never heard of, she hadn't even given it a second thought, presuming that they'd be easy targets. 

She hadn't imagine that her target was none other than the blonde who she'd secretly had a (not so) low key crush on since sophomore year, ever since Clarke had stood up for a quiet freshman girl who was being harassed by Cage and his gang. Lexa had never gotten the courage to ask for her name, knowing that word would certainly get round to Anya, who would most certainly give her hell for it (she had, after all, learned from the time she had confided to Anya about Costia when Anya had just smirked at her 24/7, winking at Lexa whenever she saw Costia and making infuriating comments about how whipped and lovesick the Commander was to anyone who would listen). So this time, with a crush she was certain would soon go away (but didn't because almost three years later, she was still impossibly infatuated with the blue-eyed girl), she observed Clarke from afar, realizing internally just how stalkerish and creepy she was being. But she'd rationalized it by figuring that Clarke would never find out anyways. Which really wasn't a concrete justification but she really didn't have the self-control to stop her pointless pinning.

So when Anya pointed out the blonde and her brunette friend as Clarke and Raven, Lexa nearly groaned at the unfairness that was the universe. Sure, she'd probably would never get the courage to talk to the girl much less make a move, but it didn't mean that she wanted Clarke to absolutely hate her guts or to label her as the cold hearted Commander everyone thought she was. 

Even worse, despite all of her reservations and protests, Anya was convinced that Clarke would be the easier target and thus who they should go for (which Lexa couldn’t exactly dispute because everyone knew just how manically genius Raven was—nothing would get past her). Regardless of her slight qualms about blasting the blonde with icy cold water, she knew it had to be done in order for them to advance to the next round and have a shot at the Assassins title. And she’d stop at nothing to get that trophy. So really, Lexa figured, Clarke was just collateral damage. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” Anya asked, breaking her from her thoughts. 

Lexa shrugged, hoping that her face didn’t give any emotion away. “Just thinking about Assassins,” she responded, her face impassive. 

Anya smirked, before sitting right next to her. “Don’t worry, Lexa. We got this in the bag.” 

She arched an eyebrow. “Who said I was worried? I’m just trying to think of a plan to take out our target. I don’t think it’ll be ‘child’s play’ as you put it,” Lexa lied, not exactly wanting to explain the real root of her thoughts. 

“Are you serious? We have Clarke Griffin, the girl who just last week said that we just might shoot herself the first day of Assassins just so she didn’t have to play the game, and you think it’ll be difficult to take her out?” Anya said disbelievingly, her face incredulous. 

“Maybe it’s for show so no one takes her as a serious threat. Like that Hunger Games victor did so that the other tributes wouldn’t suspect just how vicious she was,” Lexa defended, knowing that Anya’s words were likely to be true. “Besides, even if she’s the weak girl you think she is, we still need a plan. We can’t exactly attack without a plan—that’s like a recipe for failure.” 

“Whatever you say, Lexa,” Anya replied, a little exasperated, “So tell me what your wonderfully-thought-out plan is.” 

Luckily, before Lexa would have to tell Anya a terrible plan she thought of on the spot, Lincoln approached the two of them. “Hey guys,” Lincoln waved, sitting next to the two of them, “Excited for Assassins?” 

Anya nodded, a wide grin forming across her face, “I am, but it seems like Lexa here is dreading the entire thing.” 

_Had I really been that obvious?_ Lexa thought, believing that she’d been pretty subtle when she’d tried to convince Anya to postpone killing off the blonde (“the longer we wait, the more careless the two of them will get,” which was a flimsy excuse—both of them knew that). “I just think that it may be a challenge,” Lexa shrugged, “Sorry that I, like the rest of this school, have my ego in check.”

Anya rolled her eyes while Lincoln just laughed, an amused twinkle in his eyes. “Well, Anya here tells me that you two got pretty lucky in your assignments first round, so I’m sure you’ll be fine. The two of you are like certified ninjas. Just hope that you don’t get Octavia and I next round,” Lincoln winked.

Scoffing, Anya replied, “Lexa and I could take on you and Octavia any day. I doubt the two of you could take out anyone.”

Lincoln raised his eyebrows. “I’ll let you guys know that we’ve already advanced to the second round.” 

Lexa perked up at this. “Who was your target?”

“Bellamy and Murphy,” Lincoln smirked, “It only took Octavia about two seconds to shoot Bellamy the second he came home. He honestly never saw it coming—you wouldn’t believe how shocked he looked once he’d realized his dear sister had blasted him with a water gun.”

Anya whistled, “Damn, I guess I underestimated Octavia. That’s vicious.”

That’s just the game. Bellamy will get over it, the two of them are literally inseparable,” Lincoln shrugged nonchalantly, before looking down at his watch, “Anyways, I’ve got to go. I’m driving Octavia home, and she’ll probably kill me if I leave her waiting too long.” With that and another smile, Lincoln left, leaving Anya and Lexa alone once again.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Anya commented, “Well, we better hurry up in eliminating Clarke.”

Lexa nodded in agreement, ignoring the sinking feeling in her chest. “So Clarke works at that coffee shop across the school—the Beanery, I think almost every day after school so—“

Anya quickly interrupted her, a smirk playing at her lips. “And just how do you know that?”

With the most intimidating glare she could muster, Lexa responded, in a clipped tone, her heart thumping, “I get coffee from the Beanery, okay? They have decent coffee.”

“Whatever you say,” Anya retorted, quite disbelievingly. But at least, for which Lexa was endlessly thankful, Anya did not press her about why exactly Lexa (who not-so-secretly did not even like coffee) was getting coffee at an overpriced shop. “So you’ll take her out, then?”

Lexa quickly shook her head. Perhaps too quickly, as Anya instantly narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “No, you are. You’re a much better shot than I am.” (Which they both knew was a lie).

“Come on, Lexa, we both know that you have excellent aim,” Anya added, “Plus, it’ll look suspicious if I turn up at the Beanery—I’ve never even gone there for coffee! At least you’re a regular, she won’t suspect a thing. And if it makes you feel any better, I’ll wait outside in the car for you in case anything goes wrong.”

Hesitantly, Lexa agreed, absentmindedly acquiescing, “Fine. We’ll go tomorrow after school since she doesn’t work today.”

“You know, I’m just going to pretend that I didn’t just hear that you apparently have her work schedule memorized.”

***

“Is this really necessary?” asked Lexa as Anya carefully applied black face paint to her face. “I look like a raccoon. This is absolutely ridiculous.”

“You got to look the part, Lexa. Like, every single good battle includes war paint,” Anya reasoned, making finishing touches to the design on her face before handing her a black water gun.

Lexa sighed, using the mirror on her phone to see just how big of a lunatic she looked like. She winced, noticing that black paint was literally dripping down her face as if she was crying black tears. “How the hell is this supposed to be subtle? There’s no way Clarke won’t notice me.” Truthfully, Lexa stood out like a sore thumb, especially when she was decked out in all black on a warm, bright, and chirpy spring afternoon amongst crowds of students dressed in pastels and bright colors. And even in the car right outside of the Beanery, she was attracting stares and attention from passerby (who probably thought she was ready to rob a bank; she was honestly relieved that someone didn’t call the police about a suspicious black car parked on the side of the road with an even more suspicious woman in the passenger seat).

“You’re like a ninja. I’m sure you’ll figure something out. Besides, don’t you always say that you like a challenge?” Anya smiled smugly, knowing that Lexa would never back down from a challenge.

Damn you, Anya, Lexa thought internally, all whilst feigning an excited smile. “Oh, how you know me, Anya!”

If it sounded sarcastic (which it did, rather unintentionally, Lexa knew), Anya didn’t say anything. Instead, Anya just patted her on the back reassuringly, a wide smile plastered on her face. “What are you waiting for, then? Go get in there and blast blondie.”

Lexa nodded, and after a small pep talk to herself, she opens the car door and sneakily runs to the side of the coffee shop—where there’s a side entrance that leads to straight behind the cashier’s desk. (Yes, she realized that shooting Clarke from behind definitely was not the most honorable way to do things and that her karate teacher Indra, if she knew, would most certainly give her shit for it, but in her defense, it would most certainly make the entire process easier.)

Except, Lexa’s flawless plan she imagined it in her head really hit a roadblock whenever she realized that Clarke’s back was not actually turned away from her, but that Clarke, who was just about to get the syrup for some sugary drink, was looking straight at her, hardly even surprised. Lexa must have been frozen in shock for a good few seconds until Clarke broke the silence, a small smile playing at her lips. “Well, are you going to get on with it, or are you just going stand there and gawk?”

With that, the spell was broken, and Lexa remembered just where she was and more importantly, what she was tasked to do (remember, Lexa, Clarke is just collateral damage to get to that Assassins trophy, she chanted in her head). With an apologetic smile, Lexa pushed the trigger watching as the water sprayed Clarke straight in the chest. “Sorry,” Lexa stammered sheepishly.

“It really is fine,” Clarke responded, nonchalantly. “Although Raven will probably be pissed off and frankly, I would’ve preferred if you had waited until the end of my shift to soak me in water.” Clarke gestured down to her soaked figure, her white uniform clinging to her body. It was in that moment that Lexa realized that Clarke’s shirt was now see through, with her black bra clearly on display. “But besides that, you really did me a favor, Coffee-Girl-Who-Always-Throws-Out-Her-Coffee-After-Taking-A-Sip. Nice face paint, by the way, it’s a great touch.”

Blushing, Lexa quickly diverted her eyes, hoping Clarke hadn’t noticed where her eyes just were (by the way Clarke smirked, it was clear she hadn’t). “Sorry about that,” she fretted nervously, hoping that her face wasn’t as red as she thought it was, “It’s not that your coffee is bad, like I’m sure that among coffee lovers it’s wonderful, it’s just that I don’t really like coffee.”

Clarke’s eyebrow raised. “So why do you come to a coffee shop at least once every week to order coffee?”

“Don’t you have customers to attend to?” Lexa questioned, hoping that Clarke would just drop the subject (she didn’t exactly want to explain that she comes to the coffee shop to get an overpriced drink she absolutely hates in order to talk to and watch the pretty girl who mans the shop).

“Nope,” Clarke quips, pausing before adding at Lexa’s confused expression, “There’s other workers here besides me, you know. And I can’t exactly take orders in a wet, see-through shirt.”

If possible, Lexa’s cheeks got even redder. “Sorry again about that,” she offered weakly.

Clarke shrugged before a sly smile formed on her lips. “Don’t worry, I fully expect you to make it up to me,” she winked, before grabbing Lexa’s arm and a pen and writing 9 digits, “I’ve got to explain to my boss why I’m soaking wet and try to get off early, but give me a call or text sometime.” With that, Clarke sauntered away from Lexa, leaving Lexa absolutely shocked at what had just happened. “By the way,” Lexa hollered, watching as Clarke turned back around “I’m Lexa.”

“Whatever,” Clarke smirked, “I’m still calling you Coffee-Girl-Who-Always-Throws-Out-Her-Coffee-After-One-Sip.” 

***

“So wait, you’re telling me that after you shot Clarke Griffin in the middle of her shift, she still gave you her number?” Anya asked, incredulously. Lexa only nodded, unable to stop smiling. Anya only whistled, “Damn, Lexa, you sure have more game than I ever gave you credit for.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for the kudos and comments and of course, thank you for reading! the next (and last chapter) will hopefully be posted by friday. i hope you're enjoying the story so far! also, i've decided to create a series of one-shots/short stories titled the unapologetic first impressions so stay tuned on that!


	3. Chapter 3

“Are you kidding me, Griffin?” Raven shook her head in disappointment, “I can’t believe that you managed to get us out within two days.” 

“Well, at least we outlasted Bellamy and Murphy, right?” Clarke offered weakly, ignoring the murderous glances Raven was giving her (by the fury Raven had been unfurling upon her, you would’ve thought that Clarke had killed her puppy). Clarke had dreaded telling Raven the news, only telling her after she’d fed her pizza and her favorite flavor of ice cream (but, as Clarke soon realized, her attempts at softening Raven up were really for naught). 

Raven looked at her as if she just grew another head. “That isn’t important—well it is—but it’s not as important as winning the Assassins title! Come on, Griff-Daddy, I had all this potential but you just had to bring me down.” 

Before Clarke could retort and possibly scold her for calling Griff-Daddy, the ridiculous nickname Raven had given her sophomore year, her phone buzzed. _One New Text Message_ , her phone read, with the digits of an unknown number and the message, “Hey, Clarke. It’s Lexa” displayed on the screen. 

“Who’s that?” Raven asked curiously, her wrath seemingly forgotten as she snatched Clarke’s phone straight off of her, “Lexa? The same Lexa that shot you?” 

Clarke’s silence was telling. “Why the hell are you now best buds with the girl who ruined my dreams of greatness?” Raven accused, her eyes narrowing. 

“That’s literally the first text she sent me,” Clarke corrected, “She felt bad about the whole ordeal and I gave her my number so that she could make it up to me.” 

“The cold hearted Commander felt bad?” Raven asked, disbelievingly. “According the Octavia, that girl wouldn’t speak to her or even recognize her as Lincoln’s girlfriend until they’d been dating for half a year! Hell, all she does at school is glare at people!” 

Clarke responded, defensively, “She’s not that bad, okay? She’s pretty nice, actually.” 

Raven snorted. “Nice is hardly how I’d describe her, but hey, it is time for you to move on from Finn. And even I’ll admit that Lexa, while a stone cold bitch, is pretty hot.” At that, Raven waggled her eyebrows suggestively (Clarke was a little alarmed that Raven went from wanting to rip her head off to insinuating that she get it on with Lexa, but then again, she supposed that that was her best friend). 

“Whatever,” Clarke waved her off. “I’ve got to go home to study for that massive history test tomorrow, but I’ll text you later.” 

Clarke pretended she didn’t hear Raven mutter under her breath, “More like so you can text Lexa in peace.” 

***

_Clarke [7:46pm]: wait, who is this? I don’t think I know a Lexa ;)_

_Coffee-Girl-Who-Always-Throws-Out-Her-Coffee-After-One-Sip [7:46pm]: Clarke, I’m not calling myself that ridiculous nickname you gave me._

_Clarke Griffin [7:47pm]: wow, lexa, you sure know how to crush a girl’s hopes and dreams._

_Coffee-Girl-Who-Always-Throws-Out-Her-Coffee-After-One-Sip [7:48pm]: Speaking of crushing dreams, how’d Raven take the news?_

_Clarke Griffin [7:48pm]: eh, she’ll get over it. frankly, I think she’s more pissed that she can’t execute her “brilliant” plan to get cage and emerson out that anything else._

_Coffee-Girl-Who-Always-Throws-Out-Her-Coffee-After-One-Sip [7:51pm]: In that case, how would you like to help Anya and I take them out?_

Clarke quickly shot back an enthusiastic “yes” with a ton of exclamation points (and quite embarrassingly, a huge rant about how terrible and how much she hated Cage and Emerson). 

_Coffee-Girl-Who-Always-Throws-Out-Her-Coffee-After-One-Sip [7:53pm]: I’ll meet you tomorrow at the Beanery right after your shift and we can discuss our plans then if that’s okay with you?_

Without thinking or realizing the possible connotations of her words, Clarke responded, _It’s a date._

____***_ _ _ _

____Lexa stared at the text unsure of how to perceive it and frankly, when she’d texted the blonde about meeting her at the Beanery, she wasn’t exactly intending it as a date (although she surely wouldn’t mind if it was). But knowing Clarke, she probably just meant it in the way that it was a plan (and Lexa couldn’t stop herself from feeling just a tinge of disappointment which she knew was ridiculous—but honestly, inevitable)._ _ _ _

____Sighing, Lexa decided that she needed to stop overanalyzing Clarke and hers’ relationship (or really, the lack thereof) and start thinking about how they’d take out Cage and Emerson. She knew that it probably wouldn’t be _that_ big of a challenge to take out two snotty rich boys, but she still wanted to be prepared. After all, she wouldn’t put it above the two to play dirty and contract professional bodyguards to ensure that they stay dry. _ _ _ _

____Plus, she also realized that having Raven and Clarke help them out, while not against game rules, could be a major liability (after all, it was quite clear to both Anya and Lexa that Clarke was not exactly the most ruthless of people). She had known it was a bad idea to suggest to Clarke that the two of them help out her and Anya ambush Cage and Emerson and she knew Anya would be pissed about it, but she still couldn’t stop herself from giving the option to Clarke._ _ _ _

____At first, she had tried to rationalize it as “common courtesy,” but she knew that justification was weak, at best. Maybe she’d extended that olive branch because she so foolishly wanted to see Clarke again in a setting that didn’t involve her saying two words in order to buy a coffee she subsequently threw away._ _ _ _

____Either way, she didn’t want to think about why she was actually being _nice_ to Clarke, much less dwell on her feelings for the girl that just might be reciprocated (because that required optimism and if the world has taught her anything, it’s that there was no place for optimism—only cold hard pragmatism). _ _ _ _

_____I will stop thinking about Clarke,_ Lexa resolved internally, determined to forget the blonde and her bright blue eyes, but even as she slowly fell asleep, she still couldn’t shake her visions of the blonde. _ _ _ _

____***_ _ _ _

____“What can I get for you?” Clarke asked cheekily from behind the counter, her eyes almost daring her to say something besides the black coffee that had become Lexa’s trademark._ _ _ _

____Lexa had come straight to the coffee shop as soon as school ended despite the fact that she knew Clarke’s shift wouldn’t finish for another few hours. Of course, she had done this because she didn’t want to go all the way home just to go back to the coffee shop later (but perhaps it also had something to do with seeing Clarke). Besides, this whole coffee-afterschool thing was really starting to become a regular occurrence for her, and who was she to break the trend?_ _ _ _

____Noticing Clarke’s expectant gaze, Lexa quickly shook herself from whatever trance she had been in. “Black coffee, no cream, no sugar” Lexa responded, smiling as she saw as Clarke visibly shook her head._ _ _ _

____“I swear, Lexa, that you only get black coffee to piss me off,” Clarke joked, “Would it kill you to order something that you actually like and won’t throw away?”_ _ _ _

____“Do you remember all your customers’ orders?” Lexa questioned, her eyebrow arched._ _ _ _

____“Only the hot ones,” Clarke nonchalantly responded, with a small smirk. Lexa’s mouth must have stretched wide open in surprise, her cheeks fire engine red (and even though Lexa would like to think she recovered quickly, Clarke’s smug expression suggested that she saw just the effect her words had on her). “Now answer the question.”_ _ _ _

____Truth be told, the only reason why Lexa ordered black coffee was because it was, by far, the cheapest thing on the menu (as well as the least questionable or suspicious). And Lexa couldn’t exactly afford to spend hundreds of dollars per month on lackluster exotic drinks like Chai Tea Lattes or Cotton Candy Frappuccinos that she’d never be able to stomach.  
____

Yet, she couldn’t exactly go to a coffee shop without ordering _something_ slightly coffee-related, if nothing more than to have an excuse to exchange a few words with Clarke everyday (and perhaps spend a few hours studying more than just her books). Of course, Lexa also realized that it would be much cheaper (and less humiliating) to just talk to Clarke at school than to creep on her nonstop when she was working, but she really couldn’t help herself. 

____Lexa shrugged, hoping her face wasn’t giving away anything when she quickly made up a lie. “I just want to make sure I actually hate coffee. You know, maybe it’ll grow on me and I just have to give it a shot,” she responded casually._ _ _ _

____Clarke burst out laughing. “Are you serious?” she managed to say in between laughs, “It’s been months—I’m sure that if you’re secretly destined to love coffee, it would’ve happened by now. I think you can give up on your quest to find love in coffee.”_ _ _ _

____It was honestly quite shocking that Clarke had bought the excuse which while embarrassing, was still much better than Clarke knowing that the real reason she’d come to this stupid coffee shop almost daily was so that she could see her. It was even more shocking that Clarke had noticed her visits to the coffee shop (and Lexa couldn’t stop the rush of satisfaction at that realization). “I don’t want to give up hope yet. Who knows? Maybe today’s the day.”_ _ _ _

____Clarke rolled her eyes but nonetheless poured Lexa a cup of black coffee from a nearby pitcher. “Here you go,” Clarke said, placing the steaming hot cup right in front of her. Lexa nodded her appreciation before reaching for her wallet to pay for the drink. Before she could, Clarke interjected, “It’s on the house.”_ _ _ _

____Lexa was about to protest, but by the look the blonde gave her, it was relatively clear to Lexa that she wouldn’t be taking her money. So instead, Lexa gave Clarke a nod in appreciation because hey, that’s $2 she won’t have to spend today._ _ _ _

____Grabbing the coffee, Lexa quickly chose a free table and sat down, pulling out her textbooks from her backpack. Since it was only around three o’clock, before the rush of business people looking to get their caffeine fix and soccer moms with their clingy, loud children, there really was no one else in the shop, save for a couple of teens doing homework. She was just about to start her history homework when she saw Clarke sit down at her table, across from her._ _ _ _

____At Lexa’s arched eyebrow in surprise, Clarke quickly explained, a little flustered, “It’s not so busy today and I thought you might like company. Unless you don’t or if you really need to concentrate and in that case--”_ _ _ _

____Lexa quickly cut her off, “No, I’d love the company. You can witness my dramatic tasting of today’s coffee.” At this, Clarke visibly brightened and gave her one of those smiles, the type of smile you save for someone special (and Lexa didn’t want to be optimistic about what that could mean, but she was)._ _ _ _

____So with thinly concealed retching at the smell of the coffee, Lexa brought the drink to her lips and took a small sip, quickly coughing it right back up. “That bad?” Clarke asked with a laugh. “I promise I won’t be offended.”_ _ _ _

____Lexa nodded, making a face of utter repulsion, “I swear, I don’t understand why people like coffee.”_ _ _ _

____Clarke shrugged. “It’s not for everyone, I guess. Although it would definitely help if you tried putting in cream and sugar as normal people do.”_ _ _ _

____“Prove it, then,” Lexa challenged, surprising herself even as she said the words, “Make me a coffee that isn’t absolutely disgusting.”_ _ _ _

____Clarke scoffed in response. “Easy, one delicious coffee coming straight up.” Standing up, Clarke took Lexa’s black coffee and headed straight back behind the counter, grabbing what Lexa could only guess were syrups and other forms of sweeteners._ _ _ _

____After a few minutes, Clarke appeared in front of her, coffee cup in her hand. “Try it,” she said, handing the cup to her. Whiffing it, Lexa had to admit that Clarke’s odd concoction didn’t smell entirely terrible, but then again, she figured, black coffee typically didn’t smell awful (only tasted awful, really). So really, this could potentially taste just as bad or even worse than her typical coffee order. With a mumbled “thanks” and mustering as much courage as she possibly could, Lexa lifted the cup to her lips, hesitantly taking a sip.  
“This is good.” Lexa’s surprise was obvious and less reluctantly this time, she took another sip. “You’re right, this is pretty damn good.” _ _ _ _

____Clarke only smiled self-satisfactorily, “Knew you’d like it. Ah, so the day has finally come when Clarke Griffin, just a mere barista of a small coffee shop, was able to turn Lexa Woods, coffee hater, into a coffee lover.”_ _ _ _

____Lexa rolled her eyes. “I’m hardly in love with coffee now. It just isn’t as terrible as I originally anticipated.”_ _ _ _

____“Whatever you say,” Clarke responded teasingly before throwing an arm around Lexa’s shoulder (and Lexa could only feel like this was meant to be). “Just imagine the world of possibilities of flavored coffee that has now been opened up to you.”_ _ _ _

____“Just great,” Lexa muttered under her breath to which Clarke merely chuckled._ _ _ _

____“As much as I enjoy talking to you, I’ve got to get back to work and I’m sure you have work to do. I think my boss is currently glaring in our direction. But I’ll be back before you know it,” Clarke winked. And sure enough, Lexa could see a man, presumably Clarke’s boss, looking rather irritated._ _ _ _

____“Yeah, yeah, I totally understand. Thanks for the coffee, and I’m really sorry if I get you in trouble,” Lexa replied apologetically, feeling a little guilty._ _ _ _

____Clarke just shrugged nonchalantly, giving Lexa another one of those smiles, “It’s worth it.” With those words and a wave goodbye, Clarke headed back behind the counter, leaving Lexa alone, with the hammering of her heart surely loud enough that Clarke could hear it._ _ _ _

____***_ _ _ _

____A couple hours later, Clarke and Lexa officially ironed out their plan and Lexa, contrary to what she’d thought originally, was now convinced that Clarke was anything but weak. The two of them agreed to follow Raven’s original plan, with Raven and Anya handling the sprinklers and Clarke and Lexa taking out Cage._ _ _ _

Clarke couldn’t wait to blast Cage in the chest (or maybe even “accidentally” in his stupid face), and Lexa, well, she was sure that she no longer had _just_ a crush on Clarke. 

____***_ _ _ _

____Naturally, on the morning they were to take out Cage Emerson, Anya had stubbornly insisted that they all put on black face paint (and Lexa found herself thinking that even with the rather ugly and scary face paint, Clarke still looked beautiful)._ _ _ _

____Unsurprisingly, Anya and Raven seemed to get along great, to which Clarke attributed to the fact that both of them were rather... creative, aka violent, in their ideas. As soon as the four of them arrived at the Mount Weather Golf Course, Anya and Raven departed for the tech room, which Clarke was rather thankful of this as she couldn’t stand to hear one more story involving fire, explosions, or fighting._ _ _ _

____Now, it was just Clarke and Lexa, waiting for Anya and Raven’s cue that their target, code name The Khakis (inspired by Cage’s choice outfit), was on his way towards them. Clarke had already snuck inside the golf course beforehand, hidden behind some conveniently placed bushes, while Lexa waited for Cage directly outside the course. This effectively cut Cage off and trapped him between the two girls, unable to escape once he realized what exactly was happening._ _ _ _

____“Test, test, over,” Raven’s voice shakily transmitted through the walkie talkie, and Clarke quickly radioed back, “I can hear you loud and clear, over.” As soon as Clarke finished, she heard Lexa faintly respond something similar._ _ _ _

____While there had been little practical use for a walkie talkie, especially since the four of them all owned and used cell phones, Raven had been adamant that they used walkie talkies because it was more “legit.” Raven had even insisted that they each had code names, which Raven, of course, had decided (Clarke was Griff-Daddy, Lexa was The Commander, Anya was Raccoon Eyes, and Raven was The Mechanic). Clarke honestly felt like she was transported back to when she was eight years old, going on adventures with Octavia and Bellamy in her treehouse with their Barbie walkie talkies._ _ _ _

____“Sprinklers are on, The Khakis is headed straight towards you two,” crackled the radio._ _ _ _

____Clarke instantly stood a little more alert, her eyes peeled for Cage. Sure enough, she could faintly see what she presumed to be Cage and his father running towards the entrance of the golf course. Clarke was sure she heard Cage, in his annoying, nasally voice, scream something along the lines of, “Are you fucking kidding me? Can’t the staff do anything right? This is ridiculous!”_ _ _ _

____As soon as Cage and his father ran past her, she sneakily moved out of the bushes and carefully walked in the direction Cage had gone, her hand on the trigger of her water gun. Nearby, she could see Lexa too, emerge from where she had been hiding._ _ _ _

____At this point, Cage had seen Lexa and her water gun, realized this was a set up, and turned around to run back towards the golf course, only to see that Clarke was blocking his way out. “It’s over,” called Lexa to Cage, her voice steady with authority and her eyes dark. Then, Lexa gave a subtle nod—their sign to start shooting—and with the signal, the two girls pushed the trigger, splashing Cage straight in the chest._ _ _ _

____Cage, who was now thoroughly drenched, could only bitterly storm out, his confused father in tow with him. Clarke, on the other hand, eagerly ran towards Lexa.  
And maybe it was because her heart was pumping full of adrenaline (or perhaps due to something else she couldn’t identify) that Clarke, in that moment, pressed her lips to Lexa’s. _ _ _ _

____“Damn, of course you two would be horny after taking down Cage Emerson,” a voice came from behind them. Lexa and Clarke instantly pulled away, albeit reluctantly on both of their parts, to see Raven and Anya both smirking._ _ _ _

____“Talk about the new Bonnie and Clyde,” Anya responded, a smirk playing at her lips._ _ _ _

____Raven pursed her lips thoughtfully, before chiming back, “The Commander and Griff-Daddy really doesn’t have the same ring to it, though.”_ _ _ _

____But at that point, Clarke and Lexa had already stopped listening, too wrapped up in each other’s arms (and lips)._ _ _ _

____***_ _ _ _

____After a few more rounds, Anya and Lexa were declared the official winner of Assassins. And no matter how great winning Assassins felt, Lexa found that it faded in comparison to how great it felt to call Clarke Griffin her girlfriend._ _ _ _

Ah, yes, as Anya or Raven would put it—Lexa was _so whipped_ for Clarke Griffin (and well, Clarke was rather whipped for Lexa too). 

____***_ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah, now the bittersweet end...  
> thank you so much for reading and really hoped you enjoyed this lil short story and i apologize in advance for any grammar errors/glaring plotholes/etc. also, please give this story a kudos or a comment if you enjoyed it! i have few other one-shots and short stories i plan on posting soon/am in the process of writing so keep your eyes peeled for that.

**Author's Note:**

> this will probably be a three-part story, with the next chapter likely in lexa's point of view. the next chapter will hopefully be up in a couple of days. thanks for reading and kudos and comments are well appreciated!


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